Organized Chaos
by energetically.chary
Summary: Even the jumbled thoughts in the mind must find some sort of peace. A collection of drabbles and one shots containing various pairings and genres. Rating shall be T unless otherwise stated in chapters. Please R and R!
1. Quiet

**Disclaimer: **Danny Phantom is a product of Butch Hartman and Billionfold Inc. I do not, in any way, shape or form, own the characters of the show. Hell, I don't even own the DVD Box Set (yet). I take credit only for ideas unless otherwise stated. I'm merely a high schooler who uses these characters to my own volition to satisfy my creative need.

Quiet  
>It's 12:30 in the morning. Do <em>you<em> know what it's like to be awake with all this noise?  
><strong>Word Count: 561<br>Pairings: **There's DxS if you squint, but I think it's more Sam-centric.  
><strong>Genre: <strong>Drama, I guess...?  
><strong>Rating: <strong>T just to be safe.

**Note: **Please leave a review, if you check out this collection- I'm saddened by the fact that this receives so many hits, but such little feedback. Even just a word or two.

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><p>It's the dead of the night and it's too loud for her. She should be in bed, <em>asleep,<em> only _dreaming _of the things that go bump in the night at this hour. But no, she's outside in the cold, shivering for a different reason. Her thoughts are in turmoil and she can't stand the noise.

It's the dead of the night and it's too loud for her and she's in the middle of the park. The silver of the moon and the twinkling stars are all she can see. Until she closes her eyes.

_She sees him almost become a full ghost. So much blood-green, red, mixtures of both…god, why is there _so much? _The Thermos shakes as she holds it, her hands fumbling with the cap to keep Skulker in there, the ghostly hunter finally being contained after a long battle that was a beating more on Danny's part. All the upgrades have taken their toll on the halfa and she has to hand the Thermos to Tucker to keep from dropping it unintentionally._

_He lies on the ground, one gloved hand covering a particularly nasty wound that she knows won't be there in a few hours. He heals fast- always has since the accident- the accident that was her fault and while she knows that the Ghost completes him, seeing him like this…so broken and bruised and bloodied…all that blood…sometimes she wonders if it was really worth it. Because one day, he'll become a full ghost, earlier than he should. _

_A smile and a laugh at winning and he's awake, green eyes (god, does it have to look like his blood?) glowing in a mixture of triumph and pain and it's all fixated on her and the gaze softens and he smiles _her _smile- the one reserved just for her and as Tucker moves to help him, she stays rooted to the ground. This is his life and it's because of her that his blood is there._

She exhales slowly, watching her breath become visible in the cool night air. It's the dead of the night, in the middle of the park and the noise is starting to decline while she's alone. For now. When the air around her becomes even more chilling, she can't help but smile and a small chuckle leaves her lips, condensing like her earlier exhalation.

He's suddenly visible, jumpsuit intact and no signs of any battle having taken place, save for a few nondescript bruises- it seems he's always bruised and this thought causes the noise to begin to escalate again. There's a sheepish grin on his face and a kind, knowing look in his ecto-green eyes and he holds up a blanket, one that looks warm and inviting in this weather.

Giving him silent permission, she watches as he shifts from Phantom to Fenton before her, the white rings suddenly too bright in the night, but she says nothing because as the rings dissipate, so does the noise. He says nothing as he sits next to her, draping and enveloping them both in the warmth of the blanket. Words need not be exchanged between them because he knows and she knows and that's enough.

It's the dead of the night and she's in the middle of the park and she's not cold anymore and she's not alone. But most importantly, it's finally quiet.

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><p><strong>Review?<strong>


	2. Notebook

**Note: **I like parallelism for some strange bizarre reason.

Notebook  
>Notebooks tell as much about a person as lockers. A quick look at the three girls involved in Danny Phantom's and Danny Fenton's life.<br>**Word Count: 267  
>Pairings: <strong>Er, I'd give it away on accident.  
><strong>Genre: <strong>General  
><strong>Rating: <strong>K+ because I'm paranoid.

* * *

><p>She has a pink notebook, naturally. It's her favorite color.<p>

She has a red notebook to match her suit.

Her notebook is purple, the only actual 'color' she can bear to wear.

She doesn't have doodles on hers- of course not- she has "Mrs. Invsi-o-bill" written in various fonts on the paper as well as the front and back cover.

She doesn't have time to doodle- her work demands too much of her- she has notes on all the ghosts she hunts and various ways of taking care of Phantom permanently.

Her pages are filled with doodles of ghosts they've hunted and ghosts in general- his logo's there too, the one she designed for him- its hides the "Mrs. Fenton" and "Mrs. Phantom"'s all over the pages- she's allowed to indulge in her girly side every once and a while.

She races to the scene of a ghost attack in hopes that he'll save her again and realize that she's the one for him.

She races to the scene of a ghost attack in hopes of finally annihilating the spectral entity that's made her life one living hell.

Her heart races when she's at the scene of a ghost attack hoping with all her heart that he's not too badly injured.

She thinks she's in love with Phantom and him with her- so why should she waste time on Fenton?

She thinks that hunting Phantom is too dangerous- so why should she risk involving Fenton?

Her life has belonged to Phantom since day one- so it makes sense that her heart's been Fenton's since day one too.

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><p>The first 'she' is Paulina.<br>The second 'she' is Valerie.  
>Sam is 'her'.<p>

**Review?  
><strong>.chary


	3. Familiar

Familiar  
>Nothing is every as simple as it should be. And while binding a familiar is tough work, this particular summoning just got a whole lot more complicated.<br>**Word Count: 1,358****  
><strong>**Pairings:**Er, Sam and Danny show up, but…they aren't really paired.  
><strong>Genre:<strong>I dunno. Supernatural? It's a blanket genre, I know.  
><strong>Rating:<strong>T

**Note: **Er, I couldn't find any legitimate way to find/bind a familiar to a person- and the one I _did _find was for animals, so I ignored it. Hopefully my own way will suffice.  
>OH! Definite AU.<p>

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><p>The ritual was ready, every item checked and double-checked to ensure that the summoinig would be <em>perfect. <em>Candles, dagger, spell book, blood blossoms. Good, blood blossoms definitely needed…just in case. So many things could go wrong with this spell, she knew, but Sam _needed _to perform it.

Binding a familiar to her wasn't originally in her plans ever when she entered Casper. But with the rising ghosts and spirits and demons and every dangerous in _general_, having a familiar was becoming and more and or an appealing thought. Sure, her own _personal_ magic would be slightly weakened; what with her having to share it with whatever familiar she bound to her, but the trade off was much better: her familiar would be stronger, feeding off her magic and its own brand of power as well.

Besides, somehow, the rising dangers were inherently attracted to her and her two best friends, Danny and Tucker, and yet, Danny was always the one targeted, which terrified Sam to no end. Nothing against Danny, really, but his affinity for his magic wasn't _really _there and he already had enough difficulty keeping up in his classes, not to mention producing decent attack and defense spells. She and Tucker had a firmer grip on their magic, but honestly, Tucker was more of a technological influence type mage and she felt that she had a better repertoire out of their trio.

Which was why she was doing this.

Attempting to bind a familiar to her would end up one of two ways: she'd summon and bind one to her without a hitch….or the familiar could be stronger than her, more malevolent than she intended and end up killing her.

Yeah, Sam was definitely nervous about this.

Taking a deep breath, Sam steeled her nerves- this was not just for her: this was to protect two of the people she loved. This was no time to flake and her grip on the dagger tightened as her eyes reread the spell for the nth time that hour.

Calling her magic to the surface, Sam allowed it to rest in her blood, just below her skin, letting the two components mingle. It was an odd feeling, one she wasn't used to as whenever she used her magic, it would just rush out and become tangible in whatever form she'd be using at the moment.

Pressing the edge of the dagger against her palm, Sam bit her lip and slid the blade across her skin in one fluid motion, blood blossoming instantly, the comparison not lost on her and bringing a small smile to her lips despite the instant of pain. Falling to her knees, Sam smeared the blood in a circle that she'd traced out earlier, covering the inner circle and the interlocking lines within. Along with the symbols caught between the two circles, Sam was feeling slightly faint from all the blood used.

After placing the candles and lighting them on the point of the lines within the symbol, it was time for the blood blossoms. While the Fenton family had developed weapons that could use ecto-energy against ghosts (and channel magic to amplify against the _other _supernatural entities), using the modern defenses for the spell wouldn't be as effective. Some research had revealed the existence of blood blossoms for ghosts (her room was already coated in the standard defense spells) and she'd ordered the blossoms, special delivery. On the outskirts of the symbol, she scattered the blossoms, using generous amounts- better safe than sorry, Sam supposed.

Initial preparation complete, she sat back, taking a deep breath as she read the spell, focusing on projecting her magic though the gate she'd drawn. The spell was supposed to highlight her magic signature and attract others with similar signatures- or attract others who would like to kill her. Either way, something was going to come through the gate, good or bad.

A shiver shook her body as her magic latched on to another entity. Sam's eyes closed in concentration as she bent her magic to wrap around the other's, pulling and coaxing both magic sources back to her.

"_Ow! _What the hell is- _Sam?"_

"_Danny?" _Her lilac eyes flew open, and, instead of seeing the ocean blue eyes of Danny Fenton, she found ecto-green eyes of Amity Park's spectral protector staring back at her in pure disbelief. For a moment, she'd sworn she had heard her best friend's voice…and then a thought occurred to her. "How the hell do you know my name?"

Phantom looked ready to speak, his mouth open slightly, but no words came out and he shut his jaw immediately with a 'snap', opting instead to look around, frowning at the display he found himself caught in. Standing and brushing himself off, he turned his gaze back on her. "Blood blossoms?" He asked her, making a face at the circle he was standing in. "_Ew. _Is that blood?"

"Mine." She replied in confirmation, trying to process the current information. Phantom was the underappreciated protector of Amity Park. According to the Fentons, he was a ghost, but had somehow retained his array of magic powers, making him unique even among spectral entities. The fact that her magic was drawn to his was slightly worrisome, but hey, if she was going to take a familiar to protect herself, Tucker, and most importantly, Danny, then having someone as strong as Phantom would be good.

Provided that he accepted the contract. After all, he could accept or he could refuse her, but by refusing her, he'd have to give up his magic, as per the spell, or kill her. And she doubted he kill her, if by anything she saw when he was in action. At least, she hoped he wouldn't kill her.

"Sam." Phantom drew her attention and he gestured at the blossoms. "I thought Paulina was my only stalker." He joked, though there was a hint of fear lacing his voice and his eyes seemed to be begging her to deny that fact that she was a stalker.

"It's a spell to summon a familiar." She snapped back in defense, ire rising at being compared to Paulina Sanchez of all the people possible. The Queen Bee of Casper and herself had never gotten along. _Never. _It was a magic showdown waiting to happen. "Somehow, _my _magic called yours." She grumbled, moving to sit cross-legged on her bed, glaring at the ghost. "But that doesn't explain how _you _know _my _name- you sure you're not the stalker?"

Phantom flashed her a roguish grin. "Would you like me to be?" He teased. "Don't worry- you just happen to be around the one person who attracts these attacks- Danny Fenton. I was bound to learn your name and your other friend, Tucker's, eventually." He shrugged. And then her words caught up to him. "Wait, _familiar? _Is someone after you?"

She paused at his tone and gave him a quizzical look, intimidated by the sudden fierceness in his eyes, the ecto-green in them the same color as the energy surrounding his clenched fists. Coupled with his ripped jumpsuit, complete with wound and ecto-blood, Phantom looked absolutely _menacing_ and Sam was grateful he fought for their side.

"No one. I just wanted a precaution." She shrugged, making her way to him. Because she was human, she could reach through the natural shield the blossoms made and as she reached to calm him down, Phantom took an involuntary step back, being very careful to no hit the shield.

By pure chance and luck (good or bad- it depended on whose side you were on), Sam's cut palm met with one of Phantom's open wounds and it went downhill from there.

Both ghost and human gasped at the electric shock that ran though them. Sam felt her a portion of magic leave her while something more…ghostly rushed in to take its place. The two stared at each other in disbelief and Sam blinked once, twice before what happened finally registered and she all but _threw _herself at the spell book ,eyes scanning the page about familiars rapidly.

"Oh. My. God."

Phantom was officially her familiar.

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><p>Hopefully, it was made clear that Sam and Tucker are unaware that Danny Fenton is Danny Phantom, as he only goes by Phantom in this universe.<p>

**Review?**


	4. Lifeline

Lifeline  
>Danny and Vlad may have plenty of similarities, but one difference is the key between Phantom and Plasmisus<br>**Word Count: 310 words  
>Pairings: <strong>None. Purely Danny Centric  
><strong>Genre: <strong>Um, general?  
><strong>Rating: <strong>Pssshhh, K+ or T if you really want to be paranoid.

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><p>Sometimes he wonders if they really are alike. After all, who else in the world can say that they're half dead? He doesn't count his "cousin" because her powers were given to her during her birth. Their powers, his and his arch-nemesis? Their powers were thrust upon them- through the same accident. It was at varying degrees of ectoplasmic exposure, but the point is, the accident was the same- hell, the same people even developed the same gate. Same, same, same….<p>

But Vlad's been manipulating him, hasn't he? The scenarios that Danny's been put in, it's all forced him to make choices because Plasmius has always had a gun to his head at those moments. _But sometimes, the gun is full of blanks._ And Danny never realizes this until later, until his choice has been made and he has one more similarity to Vlad. At night, Danny lies awake and wonders if his future carries him in Vlad's likeness. That's his biggest fear- not his evil self, but the fear that the potential to become Vlad is still there. For the sake of all that's good and holy, their alter-egos even have the same first letter! And that's him nitpicking.

Until he remembers.

There's two, no, three reasons why Danny Phantom will never become a Vlad Plasmius, why Danny Fenton will always be different from Vlad Masters. And it's simple really. They're names are Jazz Fenton, Tucker Foley and Sam Manson.

Vlad has never had a trifecta to support him- he's never had a Team Phantom always there for him. Vlad only had twenty years to become a fruit loop while Danny's had support every step of the way. His friends and family have always been his lifeline and they've always kept him from becoming something he should never be.

He will never become a Vlad. Not with his lifelines.

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><p><strong>Review? Oh the gun is full of blanks line was not mine. It was sort of ripped off from 'Suits'. That's my disclaimer for it, by the bys.<br>**.chary


	5. Smile

Smile  
>When you frown, the world asks why, but they say you don't need a reason to smile.<p>

**Word Count: **737 Words  
><strong>Pairings: <strong>Implied DannyxValerie, One sided DannyxSam and major hints of TuckerxJazz**  
>Genre: <strong>Drama and Angst?**  
>Rating: <strong>K+ or T, depending.

**Note: **I have no idea where this came from. It's rather depressing. Explanations at the end.

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><p>She doesn't say anything when they announce they're dating. She just smiles that smile. She doesn't answer when the Fentons and Tucker ask if she's okay. She just keeps smiling that smile, as if everything's fine.<p>

When really, it's not.

When Tucker corners her on the night of his double date, she brushes him off and smiles, saying that she's accepted them. He's unsure, but Sam smiles and just shakes her head. Danny's happy with Valerie and that's all that matters.

So she smiles.

Valerie talks to her about it and while the Hunter expects Sam to be the fierce, protective and (slightly) jealous best friend she's been to Danny- it never happens. Sam continues to smile and gives Valerie her blessing.

There is no emotion behind the smile.

When Vlad 'visits' the family, he comments on Jazz's relationship with Tucker, but when he hears that _Danny _has a girlfriend, well, his fruit loop mind is running through all the ways he could use this new development to his advantage. Until he hears that his two _pawns_ are dating. Vlad is slightly taken aback that Danny and Valerie are dating, But he will use that to his advantage as well. For now, he seeks out Samantha Manson. Because for all Danny's infatuation with the Huntress, Vlad is almost positive that it won't last- besides, Samantha's absolutely smitten with Daniel.

She has nothing but a smile on her face when he arrives to meet her.

For a moment, Vlad is completely taken aback. There is no trace of emotion anywhere and as he ponders, it suddenly makes sense. The elder halfa is amazed at the young woman's conviction- to pull off something as drastic as this was either an accident or a carefully planned move. Vlad suspects it was the former. A small conversation with her only confirms it. If only the other halfa knew what the Goth had given up because of his cluelessness.

He can still use this to his advantage and that's good enough for him.

She doesn't tell Danny or Tucker about Vlad's meeting with her- she doesn't think there's anything off about it. But Plasmius brings it up when the trio next confronts him. And after sending Vlad packing back to Wisconsin, Danny rounds on Sam, Vlad's words having cut deep into him and sending him into a fit of rage- rage that's directed against himself and Sam.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He snarled, eyes glowing a bright green, white gloved fists clenched in anger. "He could have hurt you and I wouldn't have known and…" He falters and gives her a frightened look, "Sam, _why_ are you still smiling?"

She blinks at him and the smile fades for a moment, but only for one. "Because that's all I _can _do."

xx

Tucker and Jazz strongly advise against Danny's plan. One tries to convince him that this is Sam's way of coping with his relationship with Valerie (which has, sadly, been put on the backburner ever since the last fight with Vlad). The other tries to convince him to respect Sam's privacy. Both remind him of the _last _time he had spied on her.

He ignores them both.

There's obviously something _wrong _with Sam and he'd determined to find out _what_. And since she can't (or won't) tell anyone (and most especially him), he's taken matters into his own hands. It's his right as her best friend. At least, that's what he tells himself. He hopes it justifies reading her diary.

Sam's sound asleep, that small smile still on her face and his heart clenches- he can finally see that it's _not _Sam's smile and his determination escalates, privacy be damned. She's hiding something and he's going to find out.

Her diary is 'hidden' in the clutter of her desk. The small voice in the back of his mind is warning him about this decision, but Danny silences it- things wouldn't have to be this way- sneaking into her room and peeking at her diary- if Sam had _talked _to him, talked to _anyone _but Vlad.

It's that part that hurts the most.

Oddly enough, the last entry was months ago- dated just a few days after he began dating Valerie, but before he made the announcement. The entry starts angered and is suddenly…indifferent.

What he reads makes him drop the diary in shock.

'_I wish I could be happy without Danny's love.'_

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><p><strong>Explanation: <strong>Bear with me, okay? I think that most of Sam's emotions are linked to Danny and his acceptance of her and his feelings for her (which are _so _not platonic). I think that if she were ever to make an accidental wish like this, that it could be twisted to take away every emotion that was linked to Danny's love (which could also be twisted as his friendship and such), but leaving her with her happiness- which really can't amount to much at this point.  
>Er, does that make sense?<p>

**Review **if it does and **review **if it doesn't.

Either way, **review? **

.chary


	6. Edge

**Edge**  
>Danny is standing on the edge of life and death and has one choice to make: 'To be or not to be?'<p>

**Word Count: 434 words  
>Pairings: <strong>None. Purely Danny Centric  
><strong>Genre: <strong>Angst and Tragedy  
><strong>Rating: <strong>T because of thoughts and action of a 'suicide' and character death.  
><strong>Disclaimer: <strong>The Danny Phantom disclaimer is in chapter one. I do not own 'Hamlet'.

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><p>It's a long way down and he can't see anything but the infinite blackness that lays at the bottom. His heels rock back and forth as he argues with himself. '<em>To be or not to be…<em>' he thinks. Mr. Lancer would be astounded at him for the "Hamlet" reference. But the question is all too important at the moment for the fifteen year old to find the energy to crack a smile.

He knows that the cliff isn't real; he's stuck at that crossroads in his mind again. It's been happening frequently as of late and each time he revisits the scenario, he reaches closer to the edge, the safety of solid ground further and further behind him.

Danny wonders what it's like at the bottom.

One step and he can find out. But part of him hesitates. There are voices calling out to him and he wonders just how badly injured he is- this _feels _like another dream….but it's heavier and more real. He figures he's a coma of sorts. The half shakes his head, silencing the voices of his friends and family trying to reach him- the choice he makes here is important as it will define his life and he wants to think about his choice on his own. Without the outside influences.

If he doesn't step forward, he'll go back. Back to this family and friends- back to two clueless parents who love Danny Fenton, back to an overbearing, but still lovable sister, and back to the two greatest friends anyone could have asked for. His heart clenches slightly at the thought of the rest of Team Phantom as they'd come to know themselves. He doesn't know where he would be without their unfailing support.

But going back also means going back to two parents whose main love is ghost hunting- who want to tear him apart molecule by molecule, back to an archenemy whose had twenty years advantage on him and who wants to marry his mom and kill his dad, back to too many ghosts to fight and handle, and back to fight for a town that doesn't appreciate him at all, and back to the regular, drama filled life of a teenager.

He wonders if it's worth it.

Stepping forward means discovering what is on the other side and cutting himself loose from a weight no fifteen year old should ever have been asked or forced to carry.

Danny stands on the edge, peering down and then peering behind him. '_To be or not to be….that is the question.' _And he knows the answer.

The EKG flatlines.

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><p><strong>Note: <strong>So basically, Danny was in a coma and instead of fighting, decided to give up. Yeah.  
><strong>Review?<br>**.chary


	7. Stalemate

Stalemate  
>In 10 years, they've gone from being the constantly battling pawns to becoming the most powerful pieces on the board. But all that's done is lock them in stalemate.<p>

**Word Count: 456 words  
>Pairings: <strong>Valerie centered, but I guess a smidgeon of Dark Gray if you looked?  
><strong>Genre: <strong>Um, general reflective?  
><strong>Rating: <strong>K+, but I think it should be T because of the mention of Dark Danny

* * *

><p>There are days when she wakes up and wonders if these past ten years have been one vivid nightmare. And then she recalls all the pain and hurt and pure agony she's endured and realizes: nightmares shouldn't hurt that much. Yet it just seems so surreal to her at times how ghost hunting is all her life's amounted to. Well, hunting isn't even the right word anymore. Now it's just one ghost she has to fight in order to protect what's left of Amity Park. The same ghost who all but led her to this career a decade ago: Phantom.<p>

Valerie wonders sometimes how exactly they reached this point. After all, once upon a time, Phantom was the one she wanted and needed revenge on. Now, she's the only one standing between him and decimation of Amity.

…When did that happen?

At a point in her early teens and early days as a ghost hunter, Valerie had seen Phantom as the catalyst that had ruined what she had thought was the perfect life back then. Only when she had the time to reflect did the Huntress see that the Phantom before the Accident was infinitely better than the Phantom _after _the Accident. He used to be good- always watching out not just for her, but for all of Amity Park, a fact that they had so overlooked back then.

And then the explosion at the Nasty Burger occurred, Phantom had disappeared and when he returned, he wasn't the same anymore. He was the villain, the monster.

When she's in a pessimistic mood, Valerie thinks that this is the role she's meant to play for the rest of her life: the knight fighting the dragon. She hates that she can't do anything about this job- part of her knows that this is the right thing to do: fighting Phantom to keep everyone else safe. Another part of her resents Phantom all over again for keep her so caged in and restricted.

He told her once that their relationship (she _cringed _at that word) was similar to a chess game. She'd make a move and so would he and so on and so forth. Valerie didn't like to admit it, but he was right, in some sort of sick, twisted way (was this all _really_ just a game?)- her whole life has been reduced to one continuous mental and physical black and white strategy game.

The alarm blares and her dad sends her the coordinates of the tower that Phantom is attacking. It takes but a moment for the skilled Huntress to press a button and call her hoverboard. And then she speeds off- it's her move now.

But she knows that they'll forever be at a stalemate.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: <strong>I seriously love 'The Ultimate Enemy'. Dark Danny's voice makes me die with how gorgeous he sounds. But I really love his and Valerie's relationship in the future. Even if I am a DxS shipper XD  
><strong>Review?<br>**.chary


	8. Betrayal

Betrayal  
>Life has a way of forcing us to rethink our values and make decisions we thought we'd never make.<p>

**Word Count: 497 words  
>Pairings: <strong>None. But all main human characters and the two male halfas are mentioned.  
><strong>Genre: <strong>angst!  
><strong>Rating: <strong>T just because.  
><strong>Note: <strong>I don't know. Really. It's not that good at the end. DX

* * *

><p>There's that sharp, painful twist in his gut and it hurts so much more than the concoction they're injecting into him- that blue liquid burns fire in his blood and he feels it attack his ghost side and he cries out in pain, pain that's a combination from that injection and that pain in his gut. He wishes desperately that he's dreaming, but he knows that this nightmare is real.<p>

They start talking to each other and check their calculations and the charts that are set up elsewhere. He's not too sure- he's delirious, after all. It's been non-stop tests, experiments, drug tests…and he's not going to last much longer without any sustenance. Food, water, fear…even his ghost side is feeling depraved and he longs to break free from the anti-ecto shackles just to scare the life out of someone, _anyone_ to feed his ghost half. He doesn't care what happens to him, as long as his ghost half stays alive. Phantom needs to live.

If Phantom dies, Fenton won't find the will to live. They're too integrated into each other. Phantom isn't just corporeal ectoplasm- Phantom is part of him. Phantom if Fenton, Fenton is Phantom.

And of the four people who understand that, three are locked up in separate cells for 'their safety' after exposure to him for so long and the third is in holed up in Wisconsin, plotting to break Phantom and Fenton out.

A scream wears on his vocal chords as his parents, he thinks it's Mom, because Dad is holding him down (is he thrashing that badly?) as that knife (god what type of metal is it? It hurts too much to be ordinary) cleanly slices open his stomach and ecto-green blood oozes out. In the background, he can hear Sam, Tucker and Jazz crying out to his parents to stop, can't they see he's hurting? That he's still Danny? Sam and Jazz are sobbing, because he can barely discern their words.

The twisting in his gut worsens. Danny didn't want to do this, but he has no choice. He whispers his apologies to his parents before he lets loose the energy that's been building up in him. A Ghostly Wail throws back his parents and he hears them hit the ground, hopefully knocked unconscious by the force of his attack. Danny's not sure.

In a moment, his shackles are free and he's aware of Sam and Tucker hovering above him- his Wail shorted out the electronic system keeping them in their cells. Jazz has run to get him water. His friends are panicking.

And suddenly, it becomes crystal clear what Danny has to do. It pains Danny to do so, worse than what his parents have done to him and what they would have done to him, but he knows what his next plan of action is and he knows that he has to bring Sam, Tucker and Jazz with him.

He has to go to Vlad. The betrayal hurts.

* * *

><p>So. I don't know if I expressed it enough, but 'betrayal' has two different roles here:<br>1) Danny's parents betraying him for capturing him and experimenting on him after the revelation of secret and  
>2) Danny's betrayal to his parents as a son, by leaving them for Vlad.<p>

The other three are just along for the ride.  
><strong>Like it? Hated it? Review?<br>**.chary


	9. Dreams

Dreams  
>"Dream as long as you know it's not impossible to make it a reality. Oh dreams are always there for you and always there for me to reach as long as you and I believe."<p>

**Word Count: 194 words  
>Pairings: <strong>None.  
><strong>Genre: <strong>general!  
><strong>Rating: <strong>K+  
><strong>Note: <strong>The parallelism strikes again! And this takes place roughly around "_Frightmare_", so if you haven't seen it. GO WATCH IT. and then read this.  
><strong>Disclaimer: <strong>"Dreams" by Alysha does not belong to me. It's a product of Nintendo and 4Kids Entertainment and is on the soundtrack for "Pokémon The Movie: 2000".

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><p>He dreamt of living a normal life: one where his ghost side and his human side were balanced. He dreamt of being popular and accepted, dreamt of being the hero he wanted to be. Most importantly, he dreamt that she was <em>his.<em>

_He _dreamt of being his own person, one where he didn't live in his best friend's shadow. He dreamt of being loved for being himself, dreamt of the riches entailed with is techno-geek side. Most importantly, he dreamt of being the star in his own right.

She dreamt of living her 'perfect' high school life: one where being ultra-recyclo vegetarian was normal. She dreamt of banning dissections, dreamt of being understood by others. Most importantly, she dreamt that she was _his_.

It's difficult to wake up from that type of dream, where our deepest and maybe darkest hopes and desires are projected to us. But someone has to save the world and there's no sleeping on the job.

Maybe that's why holding on to dreams is that much more important to them. Because at the end of their days as vigilantes, that's all they really have left: their dreams and each other.

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><p><strong>Review?<br>**.chary


	10. Reunion

Reunion  
>Five years after his disappearance, Danny decides that it's now the perfect time to re-enter Sam's life. Which totally justifies him 'stalking' her, right?<p>

**Word Count: 1037 words  
>Pairings: <strong>DannyxSam, mostly Danny's side, though  
><strong>Genre: <strong>drama/romance?  
><strong>Rating: <strong>T just because.  
><strong>Note: <strong>Um, I like this type of Danny. He makes me giggle. Oh, somewhat, AU, I guess?  
>One last thing: I wanted this to be a special chapter since I made it up to 10 oneshotsdrabbles. Alas, the original document I had, titled 'Appreciation' was lost to cyberspace, so you get the next best thing: DxS.  
><strong>Thanks you though, to those who have left me reivews<strong>! Especially VampireFrootLoopsRule and Codiak. If it wasn't for you guys, this would have stopped at three shots.

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><p>There's too much noise and bodies and chatter and not enough room, but he stomps down violently on the annoyance rising up in him. In the din of the club, he knows his eyes are constantly flickering from baby blue to ecto-green, but with the amount of oddly dressed people who are either high, drunk, a combination of the two, or otherwise occupied, the evidence of his slip of control shouldn't be too noticeable. For those who do see the flicker, they merely comment on how 'cool' his contacts are, to which he chuckles and thanks them before continue to slither in and out of the crowd, his eyes constantly scanning. He and Tucker were separated the moment they stepped inside but he can't muster the energy to find him at the moment.<p>

A bass starts to pound and pulse the walls of the nightclub and he finds himself bobbing his head in time to the beat, still looking around. It's difficult to find her in the throng of people, especially since they all seem to share her eclectic taste as an individual. As he weaves in an out of the bodies, he feels and hears the appreciative looks that are sent his way by both sexes and, though they aren't her, a smirk still finds its way on Danny's face. Years of ghost fighting have given him a lean physique and in the little light of the club, he's highlighted as a darker looking sort of person- the bad boy type that so many of these young women are after.

But they aren't her. They aren't Sam Manson.

At once, his senses pick up and the hairs on the back of his neck stand. Part of Danny almost expects to see his ghost sense go off, but he knows this feeling: she's nearby. _Finally._ With the eyes of a trained hunter, he whirls on his feet, eyes landing on the young woman at the bar and he feels his breath catch. They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder and in his case, it's the absolute truth- he's pretty positive that his absence has caused her to want to hit him for this sudden return.

He wonders if she's into that type of stuff.

Sam isn't alone at the bar- there's another young woman there and Danny realizes moments later that it's Valerie, who isn't as dressed up as the others, but looks like she's enjoying herself nonetheless. The two are chatting about something that makes Sam laugh and even through the pounding bass, Danny _swears_ he can hear her and his heart clenches. Disappearing on her all those years ago was definitely the hardest part of his 'job'.

Anger flares suddenly in his stomach as a man that Danny vaguely recognizes slides up to _his_ girl and wraps an arm around her waist, placing a quick kiss to her temple. In the low light of the club, Danny barely makes out the blush on Sam's face. Valerie says something to the two and waves before leaving the two alone at the bar, unknowingly heading Danny's way. It's too good an opportunity to pass up and Danny grabs Valerie by the wrist as she passes, instinct telling him to duck as Valerie takes a swing at him.

"Your reactions haven't slowed, have they?" Danny teases, eyes still fixed on Sam and someone who might possibly be her boyfriend. The word sound repulsive, especially since the title isn't his. "Who's the guy at the bar with Sam?"

He doesn't see Valerie's full reaction to knowing that Danny Fenton is the one who's stopped her, but he does hear her stutter and flail for words. "Why should I tell you?" She yells over the noise. Protectiveness for the Goth girl is rolling off of Valerie and Danny wonders what Tucker didn't tell him about the two during his five year absence.

It doesn't matter much to him right now and Danny rounds on Valerie, his eyes glowing bright ecto-green under a curtain of raven hair. "Because you know it's good for you, good for him, good for her and good for me." There's an undercurrent of a threat in his voice, proving to Valerie that something's changed Danny in the last five years. She's not too sure if she wants to know.

"Her _boyfriend, _Danny. Someone who decided that she was worth staying for." Valerie shakes him off and shakes her head when he stalks off towards them. "She's going to kill you." The ex-Huntress predicts, but stays where she is: this is too good a show to miss.

Sam's laughing and talking easily to her _boyfriend_, her back turned to Danny, who takes the seat that Valerie has just occupied. The man's eyes flicker to Danny for a moment and Danny stares back challengingly, his eyes flickering from blue to green and back as he smirks at the man who thinks that Sam is his. Neither of the two know what's about to hit them. The bartender asks Danny what he wants and the halfa yells back for the strongest drink in the house (his ghost side burns alcohol easily).

Every part of him watches Sam's reaction carefully. She freezes up, the muscles on her back tensing and he sees her fingers clench and unclench the glass of her half empty drink. Her boyfriend places a comforting hand on her shoulder and Danny growls. The man ignores her and keeps his attention on the Goth, who shakes her head and relaxes slightly, moving the man's hand from her shoulder. Danny counts up to three before Sam's paranoia and curiosity get the best of her and she turns her head slightly, lilac finally meeting blue for the first time in years and she gasps. He's amazed at how rapidly she pales and it's almost like she's seen a ghost (he laughs at the pun). It isn't how he planned their reunion, but it was a start.

"Hello Sam."

And in the distance, the club fades away as five years of emotions comes rushing back into a young woman who believes she was abandoned. Strap yourself in, Mr. Fenton, it's going to be one hell of a ride.

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><p><strong>Review?<br>**.chary  
>(P.S. To those of you in NaNoWriMo- good luck and happy writing!)<p> 


	11. Catch 22

Catch-22  
>"There was only one catch and that was Catch-22…" Danny doesn't know which bad decision is worse. But either way, he's going to lose.<p>

**Word Count: 773 words  
>Pairings:<strong>None really, but I guess you could say DxS at the end?  
><strong>Genre:<strong>Angst/Tragedy  
><strong>Rating:<strong>T – T+ (which I don't think is a rating…)  
><strong>Note:<strong>I'm absolutely in love with "Catch-22" so expect another chapter based off the book. If you haven't read it, I suggest you take the time to do so, as it's absolutely phenomenal. To understand Catch-22, all you need to do is Google it.

This is not a happy one-shot. You've been warned. Though it does get slightly corny at the end. Tragically so?

**Disclaimer: **"Catch-22" is the novel written by Joseph Heller and it does not belong to me.

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><p>He'd read the book, but he didn't really understand what a "Catch-22" was until was staring him right in the face. He thought that the idea of Catch-22 was absolutely ridiculous, and he laughed at some scenes from the book (he was one who generally appreciated dark humor, given his past couple years). But he definitely wasn't laughing now.<p>

Not with the catch in his life.

"Are you going to do it?" Tucker asked quietly, his question breaking Danny's jumbled thoughts and processes. The Techno-geek's face was down, no smile on him whatsoever and the hands holding his PDA were shaking.

Danny didn't answer, merely clutched his hands tighter together, rocking back and forth with a hard mouth and empty eyes. The halfa was nowhere closer to a decision than when Tucker had asked the question eighteen minutes and twelve seconds ago. Honestly, he didn't want to decide at _all._

"…Danny, you have to make your decision soon." Jazz inputted just as softly, placing a reassuring hand on her brother's shoulders.

He shook it off and the anger building within him suddenly burst forth and he stood, fists clenched and ecto-green eyes blazing in hurt and fear. "_I KNOW! _BUT NEITHER OF _YOU TWO_ HAS TO BE THE ONE TO PULL THE TRIGGER!" He roars and as the energy and emotion in him reaches critical levels, he blasted a ghost ray towards a wall to keep from hurting anyone else.

Tucker and Jazz simply didn't understand. It was easy for them to tell him to make the hard choice because they wouldn't be the one to decide. Sure, it was hard for them to watch Danny and Sam go through this, but not as hard as it was for Danny to _know_. To know that no matter what he chose, Sam would die and that no matter what anyone told him, Sam's death would be on _him._

It wasn't anything any of them could have seen coming. Some ghost from the darkest recesses of the Ghost Zone had escaped into their world and to regain her strength and power, she needed to feed and overtake a host. So she latched onto the closest human she could at the time: Sam. And now that she had fully integrated into the Goth, there was only one way of defeating her and getting rid of her for good- by killing Sam. And if they didn't kill Sam and the ghost, then the ghost would essentially consume Sam from the inside out and use her body as a host after she killed her.

So the choice before Danny was kill Sam or _kill_ Sam. Catch-22 was messed up.

"I've made my choice." Danny announced, all emotion absent from his voice. He ignored Tucker and Jazz's attempts to weed his choice from him and entered the room where they had Sam contained in every anti-ecto contraption they could find and use.

He couldn't have hated himself more than he did the moment he saw her. She was paler than normal, almost transparent and the cuts on her body (the results of internal and external battles) bled both her red human blood and the ghost's ectoplasmic blood. The Sam Manson he once knew was not in front of him now. This Sam was just a shell of her former self, fighting the ghost inside of her to give Danny one last chance. Even to her death, she fought for him.

Danny knew at that moment that he didn't deserve her. He shook he awake gently, a sad smile on both their faces as ecto-green met lilac. He gripped her shoulder tightly as tears sprang to his eyes and she nodded once.

"I knew you'd make the right choice." Sam whispered. "I just have one favor to ask: I want to see your blue eyes. _Please." _

He paused and nodded, forcing his eyes to change color for her. "Hey Sam. I finally understand what a Catch-22 is." He tried to joke, eyes trained on her as his placed his energy coated fist over her heart, a heart that still held a strong and powerful beat.

Sam's laugh was punctured by her slight sobs. "Goth One to Clueless One: I love you, Danny. Over."

He fired the ghost ray though her heart and yelled in pure anguish when her head slumped forward, the ghost of a smile still on her face. A shuddering sob ran though Danny and he hugged her still body, his body wracked with emotion and loss as he placed a kiss on the top of her head.

"Clueless One to Goth One: I loved you too, Sam."

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><p>Told you.<br>**Review?**

**.**chary


	12. Choices

Choices  
>Every action we make is a choice. Every decision made with an alternate. There are many paths within a choice, but there is only one that we walk.<p>

**Word Count: 673  
>Pairings: <strong>None.  
><strong>Genre: <strong>Um. General?  
><strong>Rating: <strong>T  
><strong>Note: <strong>So sorry about my month+ absence. November was UC application submissions month, so I was rather wrapped up in that and all my high school shenanigans. Hopefully this tides you all until I am struck by inspiration for a holiday themed drabble. Seeing as it is the holiday season, I will try my best to not upload horribly depressing drabbles/one shots.

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><p>He used to wonder about his life: what would have happened if he hadn't chosen to enter the Ghost Portal that day? It seems so obvious to him at times: he, Sam, and Tucker would have drifted completely. He wouldn't know what would have become of them and as for himself? Danny felt that he would have stayed the average student he was, never appreciating his parents or sister, without any inclination to participate in anything, to change, and to forever stay a coward.<p>

But he did make that choice. Danny Fenton _chose_ to listen to Sam on that fateful day years ago and that choice has forever changed his life, who he is, for better or for worse, he doesn't know, but he knows enough to know that it was a better choice for him to walk than the alternate path.

To be Danny Phantom _was _ a choice. Now it's a lifestyle.

She doesn't _ever_ question her choices. Sam knows what she believes in and what she must do to get there. To her, all her choices have been made ahead of time and she's fine with that. Ever since her middle school years, she's been confident about her decisions: her choice to be Goth, to be ultra-recyclo vegetarian and her choice to be her own person. Regret it not something she's familiar with.

But recently, she and regret have become close friends. With every battle Danny fights, every injury he sustains from an enemy and every trial he faces, Sam feels that regret. Danny lives _that _life, the life of a hero, the life of a _child _forced to be an adult because of her choice. Because she asked him to enter that portal to satisfy her curiosity.

He could die at any moment because of his life as a ghost. And it's her fault that his life will be abbreviated. Danny would tell her that it was never something she should regret, because to him, despite all, the life of Danny Phantom is better for him.

And Sam, even though the guilt would weigh on her, _sees_ what Danny is saying. She would always remember the day that Danny's life changed. Because by choice, her life changed that day, too.

He's never had to make a choice as momentous as Danny and Sam have. Compared to them, he's had it easy since the accident. Yet he knows that the biggest decision he's had to make since the accident relates to his friendship with Danny.

Tucker has known Danny since they were kids in elementary school. With friendship lasting that long, they were bound to know everything about each other and with that knowledge, understanding should have come. And it did, for a while.

There's only so much that Tucker could take and if finally caught up to him in their freshman ear. Danny didn't understand how good he had it: parents always concerned for him (despite their somewhat obviousness and obsession with ghost hunting), a great older sister, and ignoring the teenage angst that everyone their age went through, Danny had it pretty good. So did Tucker, and the techno-geek knew that, so to him, it seemed almost unfair that Danny was the one granted powers. But Tucker didn't mind.

Until Desiree came and twisted his friendship, brought to life the one secret he kept from his best friend: the jealousy that had fermented inside him and turned him into the very ghost that Danny would fight. In the end, Danny saved Tucker, but Tucker had to make a choice. And he chose to accept the fact that he was jealous of Danny and promised he would get over it.

Because he knew later how tough Danny really had it. And Tucker chose to be the brother Danny needed, to be that instrumental part of Team Phantom.

On that day in freshman year, three friends inadvertently made the choice to become an inseperable trio. Through thick and thin, they will be there for one another.

Because they chose to be.

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><p><strong>Review?<br>**.chary


	13. New Year

New Year.  
>It's that time of the year, when everything you've done for the past 365 days is looked back upon and all your good time, your bad times, your successes and failures are reflected on. It's that time when we can start again.<p>

**Word count: 849  
>Pairings: <strong>Danny and Sam**  
><strong>**Genre:**Happy and general?  
><strong>Rating:<strong>T  
><strong>Post date: 1231/11**

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><p>It's been one heck of a year for him: Vlad becoming Mayor of Amity Park, meeting Frostbite and the other Yeti-like ghosts of the Far Frozen, seeing Sam possessed by a ghost (and yes, he will admit that she looked….really, really, really attractive, even if she was trying to kill him), having weather powers for a short time, admitting to his Dad that he might possibly have feelings for his best friend…Then there was the time he and his family were rich, then they weren't, when the Box Ghost actually became a threat, Nocturne being a complete creep and peering into his private dreams, then the whole Walker ordeal with Wulf and summer camp at Camp Eerie (with two "e"'s!), and saving his cousin from total meltdown….<p>

Then came the big one: saving the world and revealing his secret to the select group of people at the pole during the Disasteroid incident. And if that wasn't enough- and believe him, his parents knowing and Valerie knowing and people of various nationalities knowing wasn't even close to what else happened: he and Sam. To his teenaged brain, saving the world took backseat to the fact that he and his female best friend were going steady.

Holy crap.

Well, it was going to end up that way sooner or later, he supposed: him being the superhero, he had to get the girl eventually and since the first was one was sort of shallow, the second one kept trying to kill his alter-ego, he didn't realize that the third one was the one he'd been needing all along. But it was definitely a busy year and the coming one couldn't have been any worse: his archenemy was gone, his parents accepted him, Valerie wasn't trying to kill him and oh yeah, _Sam was his girlfriend. _

Definitely couldn't top that.

"Danny?" Speak of the devil…Sam waved a hand in front of his face again and he couldn't help but smirk at the ring on her hand- a symbol of how she chose to be with him. "Earth to Danny?"

"Sorry." The halfa winced at all the noise going on around them, wondering how the hell he managed to zone out with all the partying going on in the Fenton household. "What were you saying?"

Sam rolled her amethyst eyes skyward, where balloons and streamers decorated the ceiling of the house. "And you wonder how you're failing your classes…" She grumbled, but gave him a grin. "I was just asking: what are you thinking about?"

The halfa sat up on the couch, trying oh-so subtly to place his hand around Sam's shoulder (it worked, but it was nowhere near subtle- this _is _Danny), chuckling as she muttered something about him being an idiot boy while scooting closer to him. Luckily for them, Tucker was off with some party favors and running around like an idiot in general.

"I was just looking back at this year. It was pretty action packed." He answered finally, watching his parents attempt to engage Clockwork in discussion. "Who would have thought that the year would end like this?"

She looked around the Fenton's living room. It was definitely a surprise for a end of the year bash: while Sam and Tucker usually came over for New Year's Eve, with the revelation of Danny's ghost half, Jack and Maddie had asked him to invite some of his "ghost friends" for the party as well. And seeing as Danny had had no ghost friends (except for Clockwork and Frostibite, really), he'd gone into the Ghost Zone only to humor them. So he was extremely surprised when most of his "enemies" accept the invitation. Something about the end of the year needing to be treated with a sort of reverence, as it was a time of looking back and looking forward.

So, in a way, they did end up having tea with Skulker, much to Sam's amusement.

"Well, it's a nice way to end it, don't you think?" She retorted, moving over when the humans and ghosts alike smushed into the living room to prepare for the countdown. "It's about time you relax." She chastised him lightly, referring to the fact that, ever since Danny _Phantom_ had saved the world, nations all across the globe had asked him for help and, he was caught up in ghost protocols for Amity and for the nation. It definitely was time-consuming and tiring.

"Relax just for the year to end?" He scoffed and grinned at her. "Well, there's always next year I suppose."

The two of them sat up and, along with every person and spectral entity in the room, began the countdown to the New Year. The yells of "FIVE, FOUR, THREE, TWO, ONE! HAPPY NEW YEAR!" Resounded around the Fenton household.

"Happy New Year, Sam."

"Happy New Year, Danny."

Of course, Tucker had to be the one to ruin their New Year's kiss by calling attention to them by yelling "EW" and drawing every set of eyes to the couple, who, of course, blushed furiously before threatening Tucker in every way they could.

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><p><strong>End Note: <strong>Well, first off, this will hopefully be the only chapter title that is more than one word ;D

Secondly, I want to thank every single one of you for reading these one-shots and leaving reviews or just giving them a chance.

And finally, I know I posted it a bit early, but I do wish all you a wonderful Happy New Year. I hope that your 2012 will be as good as, if not better, than your 2011 was. We all have a chance for a new beginning and I hope all of you make the best of it.

Best wishes to you all and again, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

.chary


	14. Alliance

**Alliance**  
>She finds her saving grace in someone unexpected.<p>

**Word Count: **1,937 words**  
>Pairings: <strong>None. Unless you want to see it. I consider it a more parental bond pairing.  
><strong>Genre: <strong>Hurt, Comfort  
><strong>Rating: <strong>T  
><strong>Note: <strong>This is a Semi-Au. There are character deaths.  
>Sorry for the long, long wait. :D<br>Oh, and I don't know where this idea came from.

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><p>At this moment, she is <em>painfully<em> aware of her mortality. Breathing hurts, thinking hurts, staying conscious hurts, and at this point, _living_ hurts. The wound she's suffered is bleeding at a rate that frightens her and Sam can feel her heartbeat as she presses down on the gash that is on her side.

The goth wonders if her hand will forever be stained red.

Sam's other hand is holding tightly to her ecto-gun and her legs feel heavy as she trudges through the woodsy path. The edges of her vision blur and her breath is labored. At this point, she knows she's lucky to be alive. But when she thinks about the battle she's just fought, just barely escaped from, she wonders if she's luckier dead.

Pain shoots from her side and with a strained gasp, she leans against a nearby tree, gritting her teeth as the pain begins to overwhelm her. She desperately wants to succumb to the darkness, but Sam knows that she may never return if she does. But her strength and her resolve to fight are gone, and soon, she fades.

When Danny was killed, he took a part of her soul with him. It hadn't been easy, but Sam had pulled herself together enough to keep moving forward. Someone had to fight Pariah and with Danny gone, she had taken the task upon herself. Sam had grieved his loss the only way she felt she could: by avenging his death.

It hadn't been easy. Sam hadn't expected it to be.

But she had tried to make this a fight worth fighting for. And she had known halfway through that the battle wasn't going the way it should.

Yet she kept fighting. Same became the leader of Amity Park's own ragtag group of fighters, was their guiding light. She was the fire that made sure that they kept burning. But even she had a limit; even she had a breaking point.

And this last battle had been it.

They'd lost people over the course of the war, but this made those losses almost pale in comparison. She'd seen Dash go down, saw him take an ecto-blast to the head full on. That one had hurt; the once conceited jock had become a trusted commander to Sam. Jack's bellow of pain and rage on the field had signified the loss of Maddie. That one was harder to fight through. It'd been like losing Danny all over again. Watching Tucker die for her, taking a javelin meant for her, that was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Sam couldn't find the energy to go on. But she had escaped the field, had called for a retreat. She had to.

So when she opens her eyes, part of her is hoping that she's dead. As she sits up, the pain and soreness tell her that she is very much alive and she wonders how to accept that. Sam is so lost in her musings that she doesn't realize there's another person in the room until he clears his throat.

Lilac eyes widen. "You!" Her voice is raspy and her throat dry from lack of use, but she still manages to inject the right amount of venom in her tone. It's then that she notices her surroundings; the ornate room…the plush bed. She looks around frantically for her weapon, or any weapon at all, and the sudden movement causes another wave of pain that has her hissing. She feels nauseous for moving and lightheaded but she keeps an eye on her captor. Or is it savior?

"Yes, it's me. And I suggest not making any rash movements. Your wounds were rather severe." Vlad Masters observes his fingernails casually. "It'd be a shame for you to die now after all the effort I've put into saving you. Besides, I loathe washing blood out of the sheets." His voice is cool, almost condescending, but Sam catches something in his eyes that she'd never expect.

Concern.

Wary, she narrows her eyes at him, watching like a hawk as he retrieves a tray of soup and a glass of water (her stomach grumbles loudly and she slaps a hand on it, refusing to look embarrassed). There'd been rumors that Masters had been killed in the second wave of Pariah's attack, but Sam had never cared enough to investigate, too concerned with keeping Amity safe.

He sets the tray on her lap. "Eat."

She glares at him defiantly.

Vlad rolls his eyes, walking away as he pinches the bridge of his nose. A tried sigh leaves the significantly older man. "Miss Manson, _why_ would I go to the trouble of poisoning you after all the lengths I went through to stitch you up?"

Sam doesn't answer, but her glare loses some of its sting.

Muttering quietly to himself, Vlad leaves the room and only when the door shuts with a click does Sam begin to eat.

Sam doesn't know time in this room as it passes, she doesn't know the state of the war or of Amity Park. All she knows is the room she's confined to and that Vlad is there like clockwork (she snorts at the accidental comparison) with food. He never offers her information and she hasn't found the courage to ask. They have fallen into an acceptable, almost peaceful silence, with Sam dutifully consuming whatever Vlad has brought. The halfa just sits at a desk in the room, working on plans and leaves when Sam is finished. It throws the young woman off to see Vlad act so…human. She'd always been prone to think that Vlad was evil, but she'd been forced to rethink her definition of 'good' and 'evil' a long time ago.

She's the one to break the patter first. "Why?" She asks.

The scratching of the pen stops and Vlad glances up briefly before dropping his gaze and resumes writing. "Why, _what_, Miss Manson?" He asks in that same condescending tone.

Same sets her utensils down, crosses her arms and just _glares_ at Vlad until he can't ignore the intensity of it and he returns her glare with one of his own.

"Why would you save me?" She elaborates.

His eyebrows rise slightly and the quirk of his mouth is almost indiscernible. "It's only the human thing to do. I couldn't leave a defenseless young woman to _die,_ now could I?"

"Bull. _Shit._" Sam grinds out, narrowing her eyes.

Vlad just smiles and continues to write.

Finally, after too many days and too much time cooped up with Vlad, she's up on her feet again and she wanders the somehow still intact mansion to get back into the habit of moving. Most of the rooms are open for her curiosity to peruse, and a select few are locked. Whereas, in the past, Sam would have done anything to open them, now, she quietly respects Vlad's privacy.

It scares her, how much she's come to see Vlad more as a loose ally as opposed to an old enemy.

One day, she catches him in the remains of a freshly ruined room. Based on the still steaming papers and heat in the room, he's just expelled a massive amount of ecto-energy. He's sitting in a plush char behind an ornate desk, a photo album open before him. There's a look of intense concentration in his eyes as he stares ahead at nothing, his fingers folded neatly together. Behind his eyes, Sam sees the true turmoil of emotions that are in him: pain, anger, grief…regret, loneliness.

And suddenly, Sam understands.

She's by his side before she realizes it. He snaps out of his trance when Sam places her hand on his shoulder. But his eyes stay on the album, pictures from his own collection and pictures from Danny's collection. She doesn't ask how he salvaged those pictures and he doesn't explain.

"Before Daniel passed away, I assumed that we were alike." Vlad says quietly. He turns the page and Sam's heart clenches at the all-too familiar picture of her once whole trio. "Now, I see that you and I, Samantha, have more in common."

Her grip tightens briefly and she swallows thickly. The part of her that cannot see Vlad as anyone but Danny's old arch-enemy is repulsed, but her logical side sees and understands what Vlad is saying.

"We have both lost important people. We have both suffered great loss, have become people we never expected to be." He drums his fingers on the desk. "We have overcome our trials when our loved ones had, for lack of a better word, abandoned us to fight a losing war. We rose to the challenge."

"We aren't losing." Sam says coldly.

"You _do_ believe that, don't you?" He turns his head slightly to smirk at her. "Really, Samantha, you've changed radically since the beginning of this war. You remind me of me."

"You've been spying on me." It's a statement, not an accusation and she's not offended as she should be. She doesn't know what to think of that.

He shrugs. "I prefer to say that I was 'keeping tabs'. I did it for Daniel. But I noticed, you are good at what you do. Very good."

"_But?" _She prods.

His eyes shine with a fervor she's familiar with. "But you could be better. _So much more_. We could win this war. We could be unstoppable. If you'd let me help you."

Same looks at him with hesitation and his smile soften to a true smile and it hits her that it reminds her of a father's smile to a daughter.

"I would not train you to dispose of you." He says.

"Like Valerie?"

He stiffens slightly at the mention of the girl he once viewed as a pawn. His fingers stop drumming and move to glide over the picture in front of him. "Her purpose was…different. She did not have my respect."

"And I do?"

His grin is all teeth, but Sam detects the hint of warmth behind it. "Why else would I save you?"

A part of Sam sees the logic. She _does_ understand. Danny and Tucker have moved on, not willingly, but they have left her behind. And she could have given up at any moment: after Danny's death, during the war, while in Vlad's care. She knows _why_ she didn't take her life: it's not in her nature to give up like that. She's a fighter, even when she has no one else by her side, even if it feels like she's the only one who cares.

Another part of her wants to run and never look back, to take her chances against Pariah without Vlad's help. That part of her can't see past who Vlad was and…she's disgusted by that side. Sam doesn't know when, but at some point, Vlad stopped becoming the enemy and became, not just an ally, but….almost a friend, if not a surrogate father.

She wonders how long she's been cooped up in the mansion for that change and shift to occur.

One thing is for sure: she's not ready to leave this world yet. Not until Pariah Dark is locked back up in the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep for good this time. And while Vlad may not be the one she expected to find as an ally in the war, it seems almost natural now to trust him. Because Vlad gave her time, gave her space, gave her a second chance. He saved her from a darkness she hadn't known she was falling into.

"When do we start?"

And maybe, she was saving him too.

* * *

><p>Weird, right? VladSam father-daughtery relationship? Freaked me out too.  
><strong>Review?<strong>

.chary


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